


Hands

by Wallwalker



Series: Our Haven [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, F/M, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-06
Updated: 2012-12-06
Packaged: 2017-11-20 10:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/584316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallwalker/pseuds/Wallwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He can't help but admire her hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hands

Tifa's lying in their bed half-asleep, and Barret's too tired to do much but take her hand and lift her knuckles up to his lips, and give them a kiss.

Her hands are smaller than his, but most people's hands are. Of course, with her, it's a little harder to take - it's easier to imagine how they must've looked ten years ago, tiny and childish and probably sticky with sweets if she'd been anything like Marlene. If there was ever a time when Barret could say he felt weird about this whole thing, about sleeping every night with someone so much younger than he was... well, this was it. It's still pretty easy to push away, though - he just has to remember Tifa's laugh when he first brought it up, and the way she said that they were in a horrible place doing frightening things, and had to take all of the good things in life that they could find. That never failed to cheer him up, and not just because of the obvious reasons. He liked the idea of being someone else's good thing in life. Sometimes he felt like anything but good for anybody.

Her hands were calloused, of course. Nobody could train and fight as much as she did and get away without something to mark her. And he could see a few stains, where too much dirt had gotten ground in after a hard night, and a few bruises. (One was on her wrist, just above her left hand, where a guy had gotten in a surprise hit with a beer bottle. Barret had given him a black eye for that one.)

Still, when he thought about it, they had to be a damn sight cleaner than his. Right? He didn't know much about what Tifa had gone through before she came to Midgar, but there was no way she'd ever had to suffer through as much as he had. He just hoped he could keep it that way.

She opened her eyes slightly and smiled at him, her fingers curling around his thumb as it traced over a line below the joint of her thumb. It was a brief squeeze, nothing more - she was clearly half-asleep. He would've joined her, if he hadn't had other stuff to do. He needed to talk to Jessie and get Marlene, needed to take care of some shopping - he should have the money now, after Jessie's last job. Damn, he hoped so. He didn't wanna leech off of the bar's profits, not when it was Shinra that owed him.

Pulling himself away wasn't easy, when he was so tired and she was so close. But Tifa would understand, he knew that. And besides, he told himself, as long as he was careful, he'd be back soon. That was the one good thing about leaving, now that he knew he was welcome back.

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty obviously set before Barret knows everything about her past. I'll address that at some point.


End file.
